2-Piece Soft Ball Shootout! Is it the right ball for you?

[ScooterMcTavish]

 

Nice to see some activity around golf balls on the forum these days, as I've often felt finding the right ball for your game is overlooked by many recreational golfers.  Based on some of what I've read, I think this is a great time to do a completely personal, unscientific experiment to determine if a 2-piece soft golf ball is right for you!

 

I have also seen the traditional belief that you pick your ball based on priority from green to tee, which typically suggests a urethane covered ball for better control and spin.  This is also why the "holy grail" of balls is considered to be one that spins less off the tee, but spins well around the green.  Trajectory can be chosen to suit the players' game and shot shape.

 

However, we are all now becoming more aware of how much good driving impacts someone's game.  If someone may be 5 yards shorter but 15 yards more online due to less sidespin, then this is likely more beneficial to their scoring than a potential extra 5 yards.   

 

I would also challenge the latest theory that "soft=slow" doesn't always translate to "slow=short", based on the last round of golf ball testing on a different website in 2023.  For an aged lower-spin player with a human SS (low 90s when loose), these may be the bees knees.   

 

When we look at the 2023 tabulated stats, its surprising to see that my regular gamers (Z-Star/XV) offer less than a 2% distance advantage for mid-speed swingers, yet spin 13-17% more on drives.  It's also surprising to see that full mid iron swings only cost 10% of spin, and that the 2-piece balls can actually spin more than some urethane (B330 RX, looking at you).  Only "real" difference I can see is around the greens, where 35 yard pitches spin up to 40% less with the 2-piece balls.   

 

So, following the scientific method, I'd like to postulate some theories to test, and the sample population:

Theory 1: As 2-piece balls have anywhere from 13-17% less driver spin, this suggests someone with excessive sidespin or backspin will get straighter/longer drives from a 2-piece ball (me).  

Theory 2: Most mid-and-slow speed golfers hit soft balls higher than hard balls, allowing for descent angle to compensate for less spin (me).

Theory 3: The bulk of golf enthusiasts in the 10-15 handicap range will have enough variance on each shot that the distance differences will be negligible (me).

Theory 4: Chipping and pitching can be adapted to, and the less spinny ball may potentially be beneficial (me).

Theory 5: People really like hitting soft balls (me).

 

What I found interesting is that as a younger golfer, I played 2-piece balls due to the cost savings.  However, when I sourced balls for this experiment, the Supersoft and Speedsoft were both $34.99 CAD/doz ($25.50 USD) while the Duo and Soft Feel were $29.99 CAD/doz ($21.90 USD).  As I normally buy my Z-Stars on BOGO, I'm used to paying $32.50 CAD per dozen ($24 USD)!  So yes, there will be no "value for money" proposition here.  It either works or it doesn't.

 

Testing methodology:

- Play one of the balls for at least 9 holes

- Score tee shots, approaches, and chips/pitches on each hole from 1-5, with 3 being my "typical" performance.

- Average off each of the three types of shot for the round.  A score over 9 suggests better performance, while a score under 9 suggests I am full of crap in my theories.

- If I get what appear to be statistically strange numbers, I will retest the ball.    

 

Balls to test:

- Callaway Speedsoft, current model, fun Canadian markings

 

 

- Wilson Staff Duo, current model, fun equator stripe

 

 

- Taylormade Speedsoft, current model, fun "Ink" markings

 

 

- Srixon Soft Feel, current Brite model, fun eye-blinding shade of orange

 

 

I could potentially add more balls to the mix at reader suggestions, though am trying to avoid the traditional cheapies, like Pinnancle, Noodle, and department store balls (CHAOS!).  I did also skip Titleist, as I was given a sleeve of the TruFeels at a scramble and did not like them - actually found them surprisingly firm for a "soft" ball.  Have also avoided DTC brands due to needing to order a gross at a time, and that DTC balls are less available in Canada.

 

If I was to make a prediction, it would be that I will love the Duo (always have), be pleasantly surprised by the TM (still love that Maxfli DNA), find the Srixon perfectly adequate (vanilla ice cream of balls), and will get frustrated with the Callaway (a recurring theme for me and Cally balls).  But I'm open to the fact that better position off the tee, and better descent angles on approaches may outweigh the around the green benefits I'm getting from a tour ball.  Heck, I shot my first sub-40 9 with a two-piece, and won second flight in a tournament with an 82 (after finishing bogey, double) playing a cheap Strata (there's a funny thread on WRX about this somewhere). 

 

Subscribe, and I will post updates starting tomorrow. 

Edited July 9 by ScooterMcTavish
Formatting

[ScooterMcTavish]

Update coming sooner than expected as it looks like I have a very busy day tomorrow.  So first up is the Taylormade Speedsoft.  Played the same ball for 9 holes in league tonight.  It was a very windy night, so a bit more challenging.

 

First observation was that I really like the loud pattern on the ball.  For someone who is a bit OCD with dirt and scuffs, there’s nothing here.  Short of looking at it with a Jeweler’s Loupe, the ball looked perfectly fine all round.

 

Using my scoring matrix, my typical gamer would average 3 each for tee shots, approach shots, and pitching/chipping.  For tee shots, I scored it 3.33, for approach I scored it 3.55, and for chipping/pitching, it gets a 3.5.

 

Drives and tee shots were very typical.  Where I saw the improvement was on mishits, where toe hits went farther than typical with my regular gamer.  I also saw less left to right movement on my drives, with good distance.  Ball did go a bit higher than the XV, but released better.  In short, distance was less variable on mishits.

 

Approaches are where I saw the greatest benefit.  From longer irons, the lower spin helped with release.  For example, on one hole I was between a 5 and 6.  I hit the 6, and watched it release and roll on to the green.  Not sure my Z-Star would have made it.  After clipping a tree on my second shot on a Par 5, my 5 iron flew well, and again released nicely.

 

What surprised me the most was how well it bit on pitches.  One of my playing partners even commented “Look at the spin on that!”.  It may be unique to my pitching style, but on one of 25 yards it bit too much.  On a second of 20 yards, it reacted almost identical to my Z-Star.  Only 20 yard pitch that ran out too much was one I thinned off a tight lie - not the ball’s fault.

 

Lost a few strokes on the green tonight, otherwise my 42 would (should) have been a 39.  And honestly, a 42 is a decent score at league for me, especially considering the slow pace of play.

 

In the end, was my scoring great?  No.  Would it have been worse with my regular gamer?  Based on how I was hitting the ball, and with the windy conditions, I estimate the ball saved me at least 2-3 strokes.

 

Last comments are it felt beautiful off the putter, and very nice off every other club.  No harshness, no click.

 

Interesting first 2-piece round, and am looking forward to a challenging 18 on Friday.  Think the Supersoft may be next up.

[Bad9]

I like the Wilson 50 more than the Duo. I have been a Wilson ball guy for decades from the PX3, TX4, OG Zip, Duo, Duo Soft, 50 and am have used the Duo Pro almost exclusively since it came out(and still have a 2-3 year supply). Once the Duo P stock runs out I think I am going to stick with the 50. I love the feel, distance, etc and it is better in the short game than many would realize. Its not a urethane multilayer but more than acceptable.

[ShortGolfer]

I think confidence has a lot to do with spin on pitch shots.  In order to hold greens with ionomer balls you need to hit the ball harder with more loft for more height and spin.  You can't take a weak swing at the ball and do that.

But, if you insist on carrying a lob wedge, why not use it for lob shots with an enthusiastic swing to get it to do a hard bounce and stop on the green?  Just make sure to fix your divot and repair pitch marks on the green.

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

2 hours ago, Bad9 said:

I like the Wilson 50 more than the Duo. I have been a Wilson ball guy for decades from the PX3, TX4, OG Zip, Duo, Duo Soft, 50 and am have used the Duo Pro almost exclusively since it came out(and still have a 2-3 year supply). Once the Duo P stock runs out I think I am going to stick with the 50. I love the feel, distance, etc and it is better in the short game than many would realize. It’s not a urethane multilayer but more than acceptable.

A found Wilson Staff 50 almost 20 years ago was my first introduction to a soft ball.  Perfectly fine ball, and I do miss the original 3-piece Zip.

 

1 hour ago, ShortGolfer said:

I think confidence has a lot to do with spin on pitch shots.  In order to hold greens with ionomer balls you need to hit the ball harder with more loft for more height and spin.  You can't take a weak swing at the ball and do that.

But, if you insist on carrying a lob wedge, why not use it for lob shots with an enthusiastic swing to get it to do a hard bounce and stop on the green?  Just make sure to fix your divot and repair pitch marks on the green.

 

 

My lob wedge and I have had a difficult relationship, so highest wedge in my bag has gone from 60 to 58 to 56.  Removing the temptation has been important.

 

For the most part, I pitch with my 46* PW as much as possible.  Been doing the clock drill for anything between 25 and 60 yards.

[Bad9]

5 minutes ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

A found Wilson Staff 50 almost 20 years ago was my first introduction to a soft ball.  Perfectly fine ball, and I do miss the original 3-piece Zip.

 

Goes to show it must be a pretty decent ball to be around so long.

[mvhoffman]

I started a thread recently in the controversial post section about 2 piece balls over tour balls.  I personally found the Duo Soft prev generation on Rockbottom for a ridiculous price and bough 5 dozen.  I absolutely love them.  The flight, height are great, spin is actually very good (not 3/4 piece spin but more than expected) durability is ridiculous but the most surprising part is the workability of the ball.  It can do a variation of things.  I'm super impressed with everything about the ball. 

[NRJyzr]

19 hours ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

I would also challenge the latest theory that "soft=slow" doesn't always translate to "slow=short", based on the last round of golf ball testing on a different website in 2023.  For an aged lower-spin player with a human SS (low 90s when loose), these may be the bees knees.   

 

I've never liked that narrative from that different website.  I feel it was a bit of cherry picking.

 

If you're soliciting input for another option, I would suggest the 50 Elite.  It's a surlyn covered ball, a bit firmer than the Duo, but softer than the old urethane covered Duo Professional.  I found it was a bit surprising around the greens, checking up more than I'd have thought.  Might be worth a look for you?

 

[imagine29028]

FWIW the TM Speed Soft come in plain white and plain yellow as well. Going to be the next ball I try out. Also interested in the Srixon. 

[NRJyzr]

3 hours ago, Bad9 said:

Once the Duo P stock runs out I think I am going to stick with the 50. I love the feel, distance, etc and it is better in the short game than many would realize. Its not a urethane multilayer but more than acceptable.

 

I feel much the same way about the 50, and am thinking about switching to it sooner rather than waiting for my current stash to evaporate.

 

I've had the same results with the 50 in the short game.  Even gave one to our assistant pro several years ago, he was pleasantly surprised as well.

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

13 hours ago, Bad9 said:

 

Goes to show it must be a pretty decent ball to be around so long.

Only concern I have is these are “price point” balls for Wilson, which they have been known to reformulate.  May have to grab a new sleeve.

 

13 hours ago, mvhoffman said:

I started a thread recently in the controversial post section about 2 piece balls over tour balls.  I personally found the Duo Soft prev generation on Rockbottom for a ridiculous price and bough 5 dozen.  I absolutely love them.  The flight, height are great, spin is actually very good (not 3/4 piece spin but more than expected) durability is ridiculous but the most surprising part is the workability of the ball.  It can do a variation of things.  I'm super impressed with everything about the ball. 

Interesting as one word I would not use to describe 2-piece balls is “workable”.  Except for maybe the old much missed Bridgestone e5.  That ball could spin like crazy.

 

13 hours ago, NRJyzr said:

 

I've never liked that narrative from that different website.  I feel it was a bit of cherry picking.

 

If you're soliciting input for another option, I would suggest the 50 Elite.  It's a surlyn covered ball, a bit firmer than the Duo, but softer than the old urethane covered Duo Professional.  I found it was a bit surprising around the greens, checking up more than I'd have thought.  Might be worth a look for you?

 

 

Thanks my friend.  Trying to keep the test to each brand’s “premium” 2-piece.  We’ll see how enthusiastic I am about adding balls in a couple of weeks, LOL.
 

12 hours ago, imagine29028 said:

FWIW the TM Speed Soft come in plain white and plain yellow as well. Going to be the next ball I try out. Also interested in the Srixon. 

 

Honestly liked the visual dynamic of the Ink ball.  Most interesting part of the ball was how tacky its cover felt vs the others.  As per TM, they’ve managed to hit maximum ball speeds even with a softer ball.  I’d suggest they’ve achieved this.
 

[1tdc]

16 hours ago, ScooterMcTavish said:

 

Honestly liked the visual dynamic of the Ink ball.  Most interesting part of the ball was how tacky its cover felt vs the others.  As per TM, they’ve managed to hit maximum ball speeds even with a softer ball.  I’d suggest they’ve achieved this.
 

 I find the blue SS Ink can disappear on me (much the way the blue/yellow Q-Star Divide can when it lands blue side up in the rough).  I like the other Ink patterns and kinda dog the solid Pink color SpeedSoft.

[RoverTiger]

Big fan of this experiment. 

 

I've been playing the Maxfli Softflis and Triflis (low compression three piece) for the last year. They've been better off the tee for me, no worse everywhere else, and I just like the feel of them better.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Latest update.

 

Played 9 today with the Callaway Supersoft.  Had 18 on a tough track with an old friend, and was looking for Speedsoft performance.

 

Wow, was this a disappointment.

 

Using my scoring system, I scored it 3.0 on drives as it was pretty straight, but shorter than my normal drives.  Approaches were a 2.2 as the ball simply released too much when it hit the green, when it actually made it (short again).  And in the short game it was very poor, with a score of 1.  At no time did I feel it performed well, with a very inconsistent release, excessive run out.

 

Biggest challenge was I could not guess what it was going to do, which had my pitches and chips either short or long.  Finished the front 9 with a brutal 51, with approximately 7 strokes lost around the green.

 

Went back to a Z-Star for the harder back 9, and grabbed a couple of pars, lipped out a birdie, had a water penalty, and still shot a 45.

So experiment #2 did not go well, and I’m not sure who would enjoy this ball for anything other than the feel.  It was short and straight, but literally zero manners around the green.

 

Possibly someone who is a short hitter might not notice the loss in distance, and could possibly even get better distance

 

But not me.

[subrew]

I've played just about every brand of soft compression 2-piece ball, and generally like them all.  I mostly play a shorter Par 3 course using soft JDM forged irons, and the soft on soft feel is awesome.  I'm a high launch and high spin player, so I actually like having a lower spin ball.  Last time I played some Pro V1 I would land pin high and watch it spin back off the front edge 20'.  

 

Another one to try is the Spalding Pure Spin.  50 compression, and they seem to last forever.  They happen to be super cheap right now.  I just ordered 6 boxes of the yellow ones.

 

https://maplehillgolf.com/spalding-pure-spin-golf-balls/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21822025612&gbraid=0AAAAADPXRSSydUgo8aPGrPsYMNFlsf9G_&gclid=CjwKCAjw7MLDBhAuEiwAIeXGIayggImnSJz_1diiMrYcNMUKouVk0gQZCg8tR6ZR-T2BhYmZlOpcLhoC01MQAvD_BwE

[grm24]

On 7/9/2025 at 10:57 PM, ScooterMcTavish said:

Update coming sooner than expected as it looks like I have a very busy day tomorrow.  So first up is the Taylormade Speedsoft.  Played the same ball for 9 holes in league tonight.  It was a very windy night, so a bit more challenging.

 

First observation was that I really like the loud pattern on the ball.  For someone who is a bit OCD with dirt and scuffs, there’s nothing here.  Short of looking at it with a Jeweler’s Loupe, the ball looked perfectly fine all round.

 

Using my scoring matrix, my typical gamer would average 3 each for tee shots, approach shots, and pitching/chipping.  For tee shots, I scored it 3.33, for approach I scored it 3.55, and for chipping/pitching, it gets a 3.5.

 

Drives and tee shots were very typical.  Where I saw the improvement was on mishits, where toe hits went farther than typical with my regular gamer.  I also saw less left to right movement on my drives, with good distance.  Ball did go a bit higher than the XV, but released better.  In short, distance was less variable on mishits.

 

Approaches are where I saw the greatest benefit.  From longer irons, the lower spin helped with release.  For example, on one hole I was between a 5 and 6.  I hit the 6, and watched it release and roll on to the green.  Not sure my Z-Star would have made it.  After clipping a tree on my second shot on a Par 5, my 5 iron flew well, and again released nicely.

 

What surprised me the most was how well it bit on pitches.  One of my playing partners even commented “Look at the spin on that!”.  It may be unique to my pitching style, but on one of 25 yards it bit too much.  On a second of 20 yards, it reacted almost identical to my Z-Star.  Only 20 yard pitch that ran out too much was one I thinned off a tight lie - not the ball’s fault.

 

Lost a few strokes on the green tonight, otherwise my 42 would (should) have been a 39.  And honestly, a 42 is a decent score at league for me, especially considering the slow pace of play.

 

In the end, was my scoring great?  No.  Would it have been worse with my regular gamer?  Based on how I was hitting the ball, and with the windy conditions, I estimate the ball saved me at least 2-3 strokes.

 

Last comments are it felt beautiful off the putter, and very nice off every other club.  No harshness, no click.

 

Interesting first 2-piece round, and am looking forward to a challenging 18 on Friday.  Think the Supersoft may be next up.

I received a box of the Red Speed Soft Ink balls for Christmas last year. Have only hit some putts with them. Cool to watch it roll. Not sure I would use them on the course. Not certain I'd be able to follow the flight of them very well. 

 

 

Edited July 12 by grm24

[RoverTiger]

3 hours ago, subrew said:

I've played just about every brand of soft compression 2-piece ball, and generally like them all.  I mostly play a shorter Par 3 course using soft JDM forged irons, and the soft on soft feel is awesome.  I'm a high launch and high spin player, so I actually like having a lower spin ball.  Last time I played some Pro V1 I would land pin high and watch it spin back off the front edge 20'.  

 

Another one to try is the Spalding Pure Spin.  50 compression, and they seem to last forever.  They happen to be super cheap right now.  I just ordered 6 boxes of the yellow ones.

 

https://maplehillgolf.com/spalding-pure-spin-golf-balls/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21822025612&gbraid=0AAAAADPXRSSydUgo8aPGrPsYMNFlsf9G_&gclid=CjwKCAjw7MLDBhAuEiwAIeXGIayggImnSJz_1diiMrYcNMUKouVk0gQZCg8tR6ZR-T2BhYmZlOpcLhoC01MQAvD_BwE

That price! Good lord.

[subrew]

15 hours ago, RoverTiger said:

That price! Good lord.

 

And the shipping price was a flat $7.95 no matter how many boxes I added to the cart.  So my six dozen balls was less than $44.  They should be arriving today according to USPS tracking.  

[RoverTiger]

3 hours ago, subrew said:

 

And the shipping price was a flat $7.95 no matter how many boxes I added to the cart.  So my six dozen balls was less than $44.  They should be arriving today according to USPS tracking.  

Let me know how those hit. Very intrigued.

[subrew]

I’ve played the before in white, and liked them just fine.  Very similar performance to Duo Soft, Wilson 50, Noodle etc.

 

This is what $43 dollars delivered looks like.  $8 of that in shipping, and probably $30 in packaging.  Balls were probably the cheapest part of this order.  
 

Bummer you can’t just buy large quantities of new balls in a cheap bag.  So much cardboard packaging waste. 
 

 

Edited July 13 by subrew

[ScooterMcTavish]

Had a new contender slip into the shootout today - Bridgestone e6 soft.  Good deal on Prime Days ($24.99 CAD/doz) so went out and shot one today.

 

 

Using my scoring system, it earned a 4.0 on tee shots, 3.0 on approach, and 3.16 on pitches/chips.

 

Off the tee, it was a little straighter than my typical gamer.  Where it shined was how well it released on short hits.  This is very similar to the old “bump and run” game when a mishit tee shot fed up better than my current gamer.  Ball earned me a GIR I didn’t deserve.

 

On approaches, I had to club down because of how much the ball released.  Not a bad issue to have, but the home course is much easier to putt on from below the hole.

 

Chipping and pitching was a mixed bag.  Had my first pitch in of the year, and this was made possible due to understanding how well the ball released.  For a long running uphill pitch, I could get after it, knowing it wouldn’t bite.  However, this was painful on two downhill pitches, where I had to guess at a landing spot, and hoped it didn’t feed too much.

 

As a side note, this ball comes off the putter very hot.  Took me two holes to figure this out, and it cost me at least a stroke.

 

Not a bad ball at all, and was very good in the wind, just like the OG e6.  However, if someone is looking for a “marshmallow” ball like some of the others, this is not it.  It wasn’t hard, but it was certainly firmer than the Duo, Speedsoft, and Supersoft.  
 

And in the end, distance was good, it held its line well, and I had two birds in 9 today, something I don’t often do.  A +4 39 is pretty good for me on my home course, and it could have been a 36 if I had putted a wee bit better (15 putts could have been 12).

 

Edited July 13 by ScooterMcTavish

[ScooterMcTavish]

Just a couple of notes to ball testing:

#1 - The degenerates on this website like table data, so here you go.  Also note I've dropped in a row for the TruFeel - it would be an egregious omission of me not to run a Titleist through the gauntlet, even if I did not like my prior experience.

 

 

#2 - If you are considering doing a ball test, I'd recommend trying sleeves, not boxes. 

 

It only occurred to me the other day that I am going to have a crap-ton of golf balls left over after this shoot-out, and this is on top of the other 14 dozen balls I already have in my stash (I stock up when they are on sale).  Worst part is I rarely lose a ball anymore, and I generally take more out of play due to scuffs.

 

At least I can use the SoftFeel and e6 Soft in leaf season, and the Callaway will be fun to put on a shelf with my other Canadiana.  May end up giving some to the nephew who golfs.... 

[Choclab]

Cool thread, I like the systematic way you're testing these.

 

I don't use these balls, but my best golf buddy does.  I razz him when he can't stop the ball in a greenside short-sided situation, but he always gravitates to them and actually uses the good old Noodle a lot.  Last time we played, he used a red Srixon Soft Feel that I assumed he'd found, but then I saw him getting a new ball out of a sleeve and he told me he'd just bought a box on the way to the course.  And I have to admit, he hit a lot of very good iron shots that day.  Can't wait to see how they do in your test.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Well, tonight is your lucky night @Choclab as I played the Srixon Softfeel for 9 today.

 

Using my scoring system, I scored it 2.55 off the tee, 2.5 off approach shots, and 3.29 on pitches/chips.

 

First up, this ball feels amazing on well-struck shots.  It turned into a gooey soft feeling ball, and is everything I love about soft balls. 
 

But it is the definition of soft = short.

 

Well-struck drives were anywhere between 10-20 yards shorter than what I’d expect.  A good example was on hole 9 of my home course, where I nutted the ball, yet it was way shorter than a similarly hit drive with my gamer.  Part of this could be lower backspin than I’m accustomed to, which may benefit some golfers.  But it was short on both drives and approach irons.

 

I also found the expected higher trajectory was not what was promised, and the ball ran surprisingly flat. 
 

Chipping and pitching was nowhere near what I saw from the other balls.  It released very easy, and left me some agonizing long come-backs to the hole.

 

It felt like a dream off the putter, and my lag putting was very good today.  Problem was it didn’t get me any bonus GIR as it came up short on multiple approach irons.  
 

Is this a good ball?  For those who play in shoulder seasons, yes its softness is a real benefit.  But in season, where we can benefit from decent distance and a reasonable release, it wasn’t great.

 

Again, hole 9 was a perfect example, where I hit a high PW into the green.  Ball mark was a good 20’ behind where the ball ended.

 

In summation, a nice ball but one I won’t play in season.

 

Edit: Should mention the matte finish on the ball looked worse after 9 holes than other balls.  It certainly gets some shiny spots and picks up more “dulling” dirt than shiny coated balls.

 

 

Edited July 16 by ScooterMcTavish

[mvhoffman]

@ScooterMcTavish I didn't miss the Duo Soft review did I?  I'm about 2 weeks in to playing them exclusively and I can't find anything bad about them.  They are stupid soft but NO loss in distance or feel.  I'm dumbfounded on this whole thing but having fun reading your shootout.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Tonight is your lucky night @mvhoffman as I played the latest Duo Soft at league tonight.  And as expected, I do really like the “original” soft ball, with one major caveat.

 

Using my scoring system, I rate it as 2.22 on tee shots, 3.25 on approach, and 3.2 on chips/pitches.

 

Much like the Softfeel, it was disappointingly short on drives.  My 90ish swing speed is not super fast, but well-struck balls were shorter than expected by 20 yards on average.  Too bad as it felt great off the driver, and went very straight.

 

Approaches were quite good for a soft 2-piece.  It had a beautiful high trajectory, and rolled out less than every ball in this test other than the Speedsoft.  However, it does not release as well due to this, and I came up short on a couple of approaches that the e6 soft would have made.

 

Chipping and pitching was reasonably good, but even these went higher than expected.  I had two 6i chips tonight, and I was surprised at how well the ball spun and bit compared to every other ball in this challenge except the Speedsoft.  Regardless, the ball did not run out excessively.

 

I also really liked the 360* stripe.  Easy to pick a line off the tee, and was helpful when lining up putts.

 

The scoring feels a bit harsh, as I had my best league round of the year tonight (+4 39).  Had a makeable putt for birdie or par on every hole.  But on a calm, comfortable evening, par was there to be had, especially as I was hitting the ball quite well.  20 extra yards on the four driving holes, and a couple of longer-release approaches would have likely made the difference.

Regardless, an enjoyable ball to play, except for the distance loss.

 

Will certainly play the rest of the dozen, but may save them for colder fall days.

[ScooterMcTavish]

Aaaand last of the two piece balls tonight.  As mentioned, I put the Titleist TruFeel into the mix, simply due to trying to cover every major ball manufacturer.

 

Using my scoring system, I scored it as tee shots 3.33, approaches 3.4, and pitches/chips 2.75.

 

Off the tee, I found it to be straighter than a urethane ball with driver, though a few yards (5-10) shorter.  But did have some very nice shots, including a nicely released 5W on a 185 yd long par 3 where I had an uncommon GIR.

 

Approaches were very good, where I found the ball spun a surprising amount.  On a well-stuck 7i, a well-struck 52, and a well struck 9i, ball ended up within 10’ of its mark.  Not quite gamer-level performance, but darn good for a 2-piece.

 

On pitching and chipping, the ball did release aggressively, leaving me a few putts longer than expected.  When I had a GIR with a full iron swing (4/9) the ball bit well.  But when I had to flop it or chip and run, it fed way too easily after hitting the green.

 

Tonight, I parred each of the four GIR I had, but couldn’t get up and down on the other 5 holes.

 

Overall, a good ball off the tee, and even better off irons.  It does not have the “marshmallow” feeling of some of the other balls, but the loss of softness results in a ball that doesn’t kill distance like some of the others.

 

I will revisit the Supersoft this week, as it was the only ball not played on my home course.  In the interest of fairness, I should play it on the same track as the others to get a true comparison.

 

Then I’ll shoot a round with my regular gamer, complete the table, and share my final thoughts.

 

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

So here is the table to date.  As I introduced a variable with the Supersoft that the other balls didn't have (it was played on an unfamiliar course with lightning fast greens), I consider its result statistically improbable.  Therefore, I will play it on my home course to ensure the testing conditions were the same for all six of the 2-piece balls I've tested.

 

You may also notice I've added my score for 9 to the table.  Main reason for this is to show that I am not making my 9HD differential based on an average home course score, but on how I would have expected to score with my gamer if I was hitting it equivalently well or poorly on the same day.  Tracking this also highlights my handicap is currently sandbagged; home course is not currently Golf Canada registered for handicap rounds.  Time to go play in some net tournaments!

 

 

I have also added two more balls to the list, these being two commercially available "soft" urethane balls - my regular gamer Z-Star Divide, and the 2025 Mizuno Pro S.  Both are considered "soft" premium offerings, and both can be had for under $40/doz in Canada on sale, which makes them price competitive to many of the 2-piece offerings.

 

 

Seemed only fair to give the gamer a chance to score better than a long-term average of a 3/3/3, and also throw in the soft-covered Mizuno to provide a second urethane comparable to the 2-piece balls.

 

[ScooterMcTavish]

So last of the two piece balls was played for 9 holes tonight - redo for the Supersoft.  Course played a little softer due to about 3/4” of rain today, and the fairways and greens were a little heavier than normal.

 

One thing I also noticed about my home course tonight is just how heavy they leave the fringe.  With balls just a few feet off, there was no putting option - just chip or pitch.

 

Using my scoring system, I scored the ball as 2.22 on tee shots, 3.17 on approaches, and 3.29 on chipping and pitching.

 

Like I found with a few of the other soft balls, it was shorter off the driver.  Best drive was about 10 yards short, while the other three were a good 15-20 yards short.  Part of this could be the softer fairways, but the ball just didn’t seem to release.

 

Found the same issue off irons.  It had a surprising amount of bite on anything 7i up, including one 8i into a green that only released about 10’.  Same with the PW, where the ball checked almost as well as my regular ball.

 

Score is likely more fair than the prior.  For someone playing a shorter course or who is high spin, this is a pretty good ball.  But the lack of distance forced me to use a few longer irons in than I normally would.

 

Been an interesting experiment with these two-piece balls, and I’ll save my final judgement until I’ve played the tour balls for a comparison.

 

 

[Nickb333]

On 7/11/2025 at 5:14 PM, grm24 said:

I received a box of the Red Speed Soft Ink balls for Christmas last year. Have only hit some putts with them. Cool to watch it roll. Not sure I would use them on the course. Not certain I'd be able to follow the flight of them very well. 

 

 

Wifey and I have tried several of those in different colors. I find them difficult to see.